Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including improving health as a key theme in the Integrated National Transport Strategy.

The Integrated National Transport Strategy will set the long-term vision for transport in England, focusing on how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve the people who use it. The strategy’s scope is still being determined, but the Government is aware that there are further opportunities to encourage and facilitate active travel which could deliver wider societal benefits for public health and the environment.

The Strategy is being developed through open engagement with the transport sector and the general public, including an 11-stop Regional Roadshow, where one of the key themes attendees were asked to discuss was health and wellbeing. We will consider everything we hear through our engagement activities as the Strategy develops over the coming months.